It's not that I haven't been cooking delicious vegetarian food and taking beautiful pictures to share. It's just that the summer in Maine with all its festivals, family gatherings, and days that beg for a visit to the beach can simply overpower even the most dedicated blogger with the best of intentions.
It's bound to stay that way, too - I looked at my calendar this morning and realized I don't have one single free weekend between now and Labor Day! It's not a complaint at all - I'm loving being home in Maine and close to family and friends. It's just making the goal of a post a week here a little challenging. So I'm asking you to bear with me! There is good stuff to come, sporadic as it may be.
One of my favorite things to do on a lazy weekend (ha!) is to sleep in late and make brunch. Normally brunch around our house includes bagel sandwiches, or homemade omlettes. I don't usually make pancakes because I find them too sweet and frankly rather boring. This recipe changes that!
I've been looking for ways to ensure I'm getting enough protein, calcium and B12 in my diet this summer, and when I spotted a pancake recipe using cottage cheese I thought it was definitely worth a try. These pancakes come out unlike any I've had before. They are dense but they melt in your mouth. The lemon gives them a fresh and complex flavor. I can't get enough! I've made these 4 times in the last month. I've made them with and without lemon. I've added blueberries. I've made a homemade maple raspberry syrup. And they have been OUTSTANDING every time.
I hope you can find a lazy Saturday - or heck, a busy weeknight! - to whip these up and enjoy. Forget your Hungry Jack and Bisquick folks - these are worth the effort!
Here's the pancake recipe, modified (slightly) from this site. I used whole eggs instead of egg whites and that seems to keep the batter together better in the skillet.
Lemon Cottage Cheese Pancakes
½ cups Whole Wheat Flour (I use Bob's Red Mill)
¼ cups All-purpose Flour
¾ teaspoons Baking Powder
¼ teaspoons Baking Soda
¼ teaspoons Salt
1-½ Tablespoon Sugar
1 whole Large Lemon (the Zest)
⅔ cups Skim or Low Fat Milk
¾ cups Low Fat Cottage Cheese
2 whole eggs
1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
1 Tablespoon Fresh Lemon Juice
1. In a large bowl, whisk together the flours, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
2. In a small bowl, mix together the sugar and lemon zest with your fingers. This will bring out the lemon flavor. Add the sugar and lemon to the dry ingredients. Whisk again.
3. In a small bowl, add the milk, cottage cheese, eggs, vanilla extract, and fresh lemon juice. Whisk until smooth. The cottage cheese will still be somewhat lumpy and that is ok. Add this mixture to the dry ingredients. Stir until combined. The batter will be a bit lumpy (and a little ugly. Press on, my friend! It's worth it!).
4. Heat a large nonstick skillet or griddle. When the pan is heated to medium spray well with cooking spray. (I actually used a little pat of butter) Add about 1/4 cup of batter to the pan. Cook for a couple of minutes. You want to see bubbles all over the pancake. Then flip and cook the other side for a couple of minutes. Repeat until you’ve used all of the batter. Make sure you spray the pan in between each pancake.
At some point, these transform from ugly to mouthwatering. Sheer magic, I tell you!
5. Serve pancakes hot with fresh strawberries. You can also use syrup and a little powdered sugar. Orrrrrrrr... you can make homemade raspberry syrup like I did!
Raspberry Syrup
1 c. fresh or frozen raspberries
1/4 c. real Maple Syrup
Combine in a sauce pan and simmer until the raspberries are broken down and the syrup is hot and thick.
What other brunch recipes do you love?
Posts
